Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green and coach Steve Kerr had a heated argument during a third-quarter timeout Monday night, leading Green to leave the bench and sit on it upon his return for the remainder of the Warriors’ 120-97 victory over the Orlando Magic.
The incident occurred when Golden State trailed 71-66 early in the third quarter. Green had just committed a turnover and was talking to an official when Kerr called a timeout. According to Kerr, he felt like the team was unfocused when he tried to rally them to the huddle.
“We had it out a little bit,” Kerr said. “He decided to go back to the locker room to cool down. That’s all I’m going to say about it. Everything is private.”
Starting wing Moses Moody and assistant coach Jerry Stackhouse tried to calm Green down. After exchanging final words with Kerr, Green stood up and walked to the locker room.
“Emotions were running high and I thought it was best that I get out of there,” Green said. “I don’t think it was a situation where it was going to get better. It was best to remove myself.”
Green spent the final 8:31 of the third quarter in the locker room. Several veteran teammates and front office members checked on him in his absence.
Green returned to the bench for the fourth quarter, but remained in his warm-up and did not re-enter the game. Kerr confirmed he would not have put Green back in.
After Green’s departure, the Warriors were behind Stephen Curry’s perfect third quarter. Curry made all six shots in the period and finished with 26 points. The win improved Golden State to 15-15.
“We need Draymond,” Kerr said. “He’s a champion. We’ve been together for a long time. It’s unfortunate what happened, but it happened.”
This was the second straight game Green left early. He was ejected eight minutes into Saturday’s win over the Phoenix Suns.
“We’ve been working on this for a long time,” Green said. “Sometimes you’re with people for a long time and there’s a level of comfort and something happens. We’re moving forward.”
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